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Date:      Mon, 11 Jun 2001 06:37:21 -0500
From:      David Leimbach <dleimbac@earthlink.net>
To:        questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Intuitive interface - was RE: vi
Message-ID:  <20010611063721.A542@mutt.home.net>
In-Reply-To: <000c01c0f241$0a458c60$1401a8c0@tedm.placo.com>; from tedm@toybox.placo.com on Sun, Jun 10, 2001 at 11:37:52PM -0700
References:  <20010609142241.A424@mutt.home.net> <000c01c0f241$0a458c60$1401a8c0@tedm.placo.com>

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> 
> Don't lie to yourself - human intuition doesen't have anything to do with
> this.
> All it is, is a standardized user interface.  While you can definitely make
> a
> good case that a standardized user interface across all computer software
> programs
> would create maximum utility, there is still going to be that initial
> learning
> curve for the person who has never encountered the standardized user
> interface.
> Intuition isn't going to do a damn thing for them here.
> 
> Think about how "intuitive" the arraingement of letters on a typewriter
> keyboard is - it's the God of Standardization here that is being
> worshipped - not an intuitive
> interface.
> 
Yeah and technically bandwidth [another misused term] is really not the amount
of data you can exchange between one point and another.  Its just a range of
frequencies which may or may not help you get data across.

I may have huge bandwidth but it its noisy forget about data.... :)

Intuitive interface most likely falls in to this category of misused terms.

You feel they should say "common" or "easy" interface.  There are lots of
crusades I could take up for the sake of terminology but I really don't care
enough to run around trying to correct everyone.  Eventually if enough people
accept what everyone is saying a certain term means... it becomes a meaning 
for the word.

Words are just symbols used to express a meaning and these meaning change over
time... To argue traditional meaning against popular meaning seems futile and
the subject becomes noise that makes people promptly ignore it altogether.

This happens when the argument becomes stale a repetitive.  I totally agree
with you that intuitive is the *wrong* word to use for any tool a human might
learn to use... But that is what makes us primates so special is our ability
to use tools.  [Ever seen an ape *fish* for ants in a dead tree?].  I bet
that ape had to learn how to use the stick too.  

Dave Leimbach

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